Blue mush is cornerstone for traditional weddings

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

CHINLE — Valentine's Day is fast approaching and instead of getting that true love chocolates or flowers, a traditional Navajo might prefer blue mush.

The mush is an important part of the traditional Navajo wedding ceremony, said longtime Navajo medicine man Johnson Dennison. During a ceremony, the bride arrives with a new basket filled with a big dollop of the blue cornmeal mush prepared by a member of her family, which she places before the groom who is awaiting her inside the hogan.

"In a traditional wedding, this might be the first time he sees her," Dennison said.

That's because it was not uncommon for marriages to be arranged by the parents, he explained. Arranged marriages died out around the middle of the 20th century.

Typically, a bride would have to be bought. The parents of the suitor would arrive at the home of the prospective bride with an offer in horses, sheep or other valuable items that they wish to exchange for a wife. If the woman's family accepts the gifts, the marriage would take place within four days.

"The couple doesn't set the date; bride's mother will do that," Dennison said.

A retired educator, Dennison is now coordinator of the Office of Native Medicine at Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility. He said he performs three or four traditional ceremonies a year.

The groom arrives at the hogan on a horse and is greeted at the door by the bride's father, who accompanies the young man inside. The groom takes a seat on the west, his mother sits beside him. His family sits on the north side of the hogan, which is the side reserved for honored guests, Dennison explained.

The bride, carrying the basket of mush, arrives either behind, or before male relatives, such as her father or uncle.

"It's up to family tradition," Dennison said. "Some have the woman walk behind the men, I have the bride walk in front."

She sets her basket down before her groom and then takes a seat beside him, on the south side. Her family sits on the east side of the hogan. At this point, the groom's mother or other female relative would present a gift to the bride's family.

The bride's family is responsible for the food to be provided at the feast following the marriage.

The basket of mush is vital to the ceremony and the couple to be married takes small amounts of mush to eat in a specific order: east, south, west and north. Each direction represents stages of life's journey.

The two ceremoniously cleanse themselves with water from a water jug before eating the mush that the medicine man blesses with corn pollen. The basket is passed around and both families eat from it to symbolize their coming together.

A marriage, Dennison said, is not just between two individuals, but between two families. And it is forever.

"There is no word in Navajo for divorce," Dennison said. "You have one ceremony that's it."

Today, when traditional Navajo often collides with Christian practices, some Navajos have both a traditional and church ceremony, Dennison said.

After the marriage ceremony is performed, relatives of the couple then speak, offering advice on how to be a good spouse and how to maintain a good marriage.

Oh, and after the feast, the bride's family gives the leftover food to the groom's.

John Christian Hopkins can be reached at hopkins1960@hotmail.com or by calling 505-371-5443.